The adjudication process of the PlatAfrica Jewellery Design and Manufacturing Awards ensures maintenance of the highest standard of integrity, with industry leaders bringing their extensive knowledge and expertise to the table. With an internal auditor overseeing the process, the panel of judges is drawn from the jewellery trade, academia and design thought-leadership, and all judges are required to declare any conflict of interest so as to ensure complete fairness and transparency.
Want to know a little more about our judges?
Thomas Kapo, a master goldsmith who learned his craft in London, is one of the first Africans to work in the UK jewellery industry for top goldsmiths, Barry Stern Jewellery Limited and Andrew Grima in England. He subsequently went on to do commissions for Christie’s and Sotheby’s. After more than 25 years in the jewellery trade in London, he moved to South Africa to open his own high-end jewellery manufacturing business, Akapo Jewels. Thomas also lectures at the University of Johannesburg.
In 2015 Charlotte Crosse’s family bought Metal Concentrators, a co-sponsor of PlatAfrica that’s made a tangible contribution to our local industry by supporting the goals of the Jewellery Manufacturers Association. After actively observing the manufacture process over the years, Charlotte was asked to contribute an artistic perspective on the merits of the pieces judged. On judging PlatAfrica, Charlotte had this to say, “I was also impressed by the transparent way in which the judging was handled and the quality of the work entered this year. Truly a memorable experience.”
Born in Marabastad in 1956, Kirtikumar Devjee’s interest in and fascination for jewellery design was sparked by reading books on design and manufacturing. When the demand for his work quickly turned his hobby into a full time occupation, Devjee obtained a permit to work in precious metals and opened Quality House Manufacturing Jewellers.
After moving to Laudium, Kirti Jewellers opened in 1992. With over two decades of experience in the professional jewellery industry, the name Kirti Jewellers is now synonymous with innovative jewellery design. His passion for working in platinum has seen him win many awards in the PlatAfrica competition and his skill and understanding of the metal has made him an invaluable member of our judging panel.
Head of Strategic Design and Development at Platinum Guild International’s (PGI) India office, Pallavi Sharma has been associated with platinum jewellery for the last 13 years. Sharma collaborates with manufacturers and their design teams to create design collections for platinum brands in the Indian market and has undergone facilitator training for actioning creative problem solving modules to facilitate innovation.
The two categories, student and professional, are judged separately. The administrator lays out all entries in a category, groups them, and labels each piece anonymously. The administrator then explains the process to the judges and provides each with a scoring sheet. Every piece is scored on five criteria, each out of ten points: theme, design, originality, wearability and workmanship. Without any conference, judges sign off their scores and these generate the top entries for the next round. Only the top scoring pieces are laid out again as each judge is provided with a new scoring sheet using the same criteria and scoring system. They are given an opportunity to confer during this stage. Once final score sheets are handed in, the administrator generates the list of finalists and winners per category. The judges’ comments are then collated to provide constructive feedback to the entrants.